The Grand Tasting at the azcentral.com Food and Wine Experience will bring together more than 65 restaurants for a two-day exhibition of some of the best culinary creations the Valley has to offer.

But when the turf is laid out, the tents are up, the tables are covered with enticing bites and the chefs are dressed in their whites, it isn’t immediately obvious how much work and energy the folks who make the food put into this undertaking.

This year's festival kicks off Friday, Nov. 4, at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, and continues with the Grand Tasting on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 5-6. Last year, the inaugural event drew 5,000 visitors over two days.

For chefs with restaurants that are participating for the first time — such as Mamma Toledo’s The Pie Hole, Pig & Pickle and Match Cuisine & Cocktails — mounting such an event can be especially challenging, and they have to be smart to ensure they’re putting their best foot forward.

But the opportunity to connect with the public, spend some time with fellow chefs and have fun in an environment that’s packed with delicious food draws them to participate, each for their own unique reasons.

The pie maven

Tonya Saidi has been baking pies in the Valley under the sassy pseudonym Mamma Toledo since 2010, but she’s no stranger to the event circuit, once handing out 2,500 pie samples during a two-hour festival.

“We have a pretty good system for mass production,” Saidi says, though the character of her pies is more in tune with her production facility, a colorful little shop near downtown Phoenix called Mamma Toledo’s The Pie Hole.

Saidi built Mamma Toledo’s reputation from the window of a food truck, serving up sweet and flaky pies big on flavor and character. For her, the social nature of azcentral.com Food and Wine Experience is a big draw.

“When I was little, I wanted to be in the circus and I love festivals,” Saidi says. “If I could do them all the time, I probably would, just because I really enjoy being out there and talking to people.”

So while an event of this size can be a big project for a small pie shop, Saidi was keen to jump in. “Most of my decisions are made based on how much fun I can have while I’m doing it.”

A fellowship of chefs

Keenan Bosworth of Pig & Pickle.(Photo: Pig & Pickle)

Keenan Bosworth, chef and co-owner of Pig & Pickle in Scottsdale, runs a comfortable joint that attracts food geeks and a late-night crowd of industry folks who stop by for a drink and a bite after work. And it’s the buzz from the restaurant crowd that has attracted him to azcentral.com Food & Wine.

“I’m excited to do this particular one, frankly, because of my friends,” Bosworth says. “Other chefs are like, ‘That’s a cool one.’ ”

Doing large events, particularly on the weekends, can be difficult for smaller, independent restaurants like Pig & Pickle, especially when it comes to staffing, so Bosworth has to be selective.

“I like doing the food festivals, you just have to pick the ones you do,” he says.

“I want there to be a challenge, I want to do something nice,” Bosworth explains, “but finding that balance is important. How can I make the best product that won’t be so difficult to assemble thousands of portions that we get backed up?”

And for him and his business partner, Clayton MacGregor, the opportunity to reach diners, both to promote themselves and to have a good time, makes it a worthwhile endeavor.

“It’s always fun for me and Clayton to sit there and shoot the breeze with people. I like talking to the people and seeing what they like.”

The Valley’s food community

Chef Akos Szabo of Match Cuisine & Cocktails.(Photo: Je-Hyen Valdez)

Akos Szabo is the chef at Match Cuisine & Cocktails, which will open at the new FOUND:RE hotel in Phoenix in October. For him, the logistics are easier because of the resources that a hotel can provide. But sometimes, the challenges are external.

“We currently showcase and support 74 local growers and vendors, trying to keep as many AZ dollars here in the state,” Szabo says. “But if somebody can only produce four heads of Tuscan kale, although we want to pick a dish to showcase that product, it’s not enough for 4,500 portions to do an event. So a lot of it is, how can we showcase local while making sure they can produce enough for us to do that?”

But for him, the rewards are worth the effort.

“This event resonated with us," Szabo says. "We understand that the scope of this event is to push the kind of energy and feeling that large food and wine festivals bring to places like Aspen. The food scene here is really, really growing, and I think the residents of Phoenix and Arizona deserve a festival like this.”

It’s a lofty goal that’s achieved one bite at a time.

“It gives us an opportunity to tell our story, and the story of the farmer, grower, vendor who produces these things. It’s a connection,” Szabo adds. “I really, really enjoy watching people taste something like goat’s milk yogurt from Crow’s Dairy for the first time and say, ‘Oh my gosh, this is so amazing.’ By the way, it comes from 28 miles from here.”

Grand Tasting at azcentral.com Food & Wine Experience

Where: Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, on the Salt River Reservation at Loop 101 and Indian Bend Road, near Scottsdale.

Admission: $90 per day or $150 for both days. VIP entry is $120 per day or $220 for both days. Arizona Republic subscribers get $10 off a Saturday Grand Tasting ticket and a free copy of Mario Batali’s cookbook.